FACTORS AFFECTING DENSITIES, DISTRIBUTION AND GROWTH-PATTERNS OF CELLS INSIDE IMMOBILIZATION SUPPORTS

Immobilized cells can adopt different densities, distributions and gro wth patterns inside polysaccharide gel beads. These arrangements are c losely related to both the morphological characteristics of a given ce ll strain and the internal structure of the gel bead. We have encounte red different kinds of structural inhomogeneities (e.g. superficial cr usts, radial shafts and microchannels, discrete cavities, concentric o rdered gel block layers, amorphous gel blocks, random fractures, etc.) in polysaccharide gel beads while working under different experimenta l conditions. These supramacromolecular structures are important facto rs to take into account for the development of microorganisms inside t he gel matrix and for the utilization of immobilized cells as biocatal ysts.